War in Ukraine: Türkiye: Ukraine negotiations begin on Friday

Negotiations on the end of the Ukraine war between Ukrainian and Russian envoys in Istanbul have been postponed. The first direct meeting of the two countries in three years is now to take place together with Turkish representatives this Friday, as it was called from sources of the Foreign Ministry in Ankara. Previously, Russian news agencies, citing anonymous sources, had also reported that the talks were adjourned on Friday.

According to the ministry sources, trilateral conversations between the United States, Ukraine and Turkey as well as between Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are planned. It has not yet been decided whether there will be a four -way meeting in the USA, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine. The US delegation is led by Foreign Minister Marco Rubio.

In the evening, according to his department, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan exchanged ideas with the Russian delegation in the Istanbul Dolmabahce Palace. According to Russia, the Russian envoys had waived the Ukrainian delegation in vain during the day.

Russia rejects criticism of format

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected criticism that Moscow only sent the second row to peace negotiations in Turkey. The most qualified specialists came, said Ministry spokeswoman Maria Sacharova from the state Russian news agency TASS. These experts are ready and competent for the discussions on all topics: “International law – please, the situation on the ground – please, questions of the fighting – please,” she explained.

The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj described the delegation as second -class. He had demanded the presence of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin several times. The Russian President ignored the request. The chief negotiator of the Russian delegation is Vladimir Medinski. It is considered a political lightweight and was also involved in the unsuccessful negotiations in 2022 shortly after the start of the war.